Abbey Bach Festival

Our Wounds

Here I am. Another wounded.
Who is not wounded?
We all are wounded,
And the wounds cannot close.

Open wounds
—yours and mine—
and by being near them together,
by tending to them,

the wounds bequeath a wisdom,
they pulse with light and life.

Life wounds me. Brightly.
Finding myself in the midst of things.
Who am I? Where did I come from?
How did I get here?  Here. Now.
I was given a name. You can call my name.

Death is a wound.
I’m not dead yet, but I will be.
And this wound directs the wound of my living,
and so I live amazed that I should be here at all,
now, for a while.

The world wounds me—
beautiful, immense, multiform,
diverse and unified:
Night and Day,
Season upon Season.
The vault of the sky,
the oceans and the lands set upon them.
I see it. I am in it. These wonders wound me.

You wound me.
You wound me because you are beautiful.
I see your face, I find your eyes.
Without speaking, they say to me,
“Do not kill me.  Keep me company.”

“I will not kill you,” I say.
Here I am beside you.
My wounds beside yours.
Tell me your name.

— Jeremy Driscoll

Our Words

 I sing to you by talking,
for every word is a song,
and my songs would keep you company.

“Here we are,” I say.
And what music in that thought
and in those sounds!

More world, more life,
more of you—
this is what I want,
and so I sing to you,
I say my simple words.
They are my song.

My words make more world,
more life,
more you, more you
if you hear me, and then you sing too.

Silence too is a song.
I have planted my words in it— for you.

Listen how softly silence sings its song.

— Jeremy Driscoll

5:15 pm – Ringing of the bells
5:20 pm – Vespers (optional)
6:00 pm – Church performance
6:30 pm – Picnic buffet supper
8:00 pm – Feature performance

Picnic Buffet Supper

Enjoy supper on the lawn (tables and chairs provided). Abbey tradition highlights local sausage on Wednesday, barbecue chicken on Thursday, and seafood on Friday, along with many salads and tasty options for all diets, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Monastic hosts greet guests, assist with picnic choices and serve wine.